Scientists are warning that we absolutely must not farm octopuses

There’s no denying that keeping livestock has deeply benefited humanity over the millennia. But, while sheep and cows may have adapted well to farm life, there’s one animal humans like to eat that would fare poorly in farms.

The yield of octopuses fished in the wild is variable, which in turn contributes to an unreliable supply – hence attempts to farm octopuses have already commenced. In multiple countries around the world, efforts are underway to produce an octopus farm, including trials of genetic modifications to accelerate cephalopod aquaculture.

This, of course, would produce some known environmental impacts, a team of environmental scientists, philosophers and psychiatrists writes in a recent edition of Issues in Science and Technology.

Such impacts include nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from animal waste, interbreeding and the spread of disease, and loss of habitat, to name a few.

But the biggest environmental concern is the octopus diet. Like most farmed aquatic creatures, they’re carnivores, and need fish protein and oil in their diet. And octopus larvae only eat live food – that has to come from somewhere.

“Around one-third of the global fish catch is turned into feed for other animals, roughly half of which goes to aquaculture. Many fishmeal fisheries are subject to overfishing and are declining.”

Octopuses need a lot of food – at least three times the weight of the animal over its lifetime – and making sure their needs are met in factory farms would create more, not less pressure on these already declining fisheries. This would likely decrease global food security for humans.

But, even if this problem could be solved, keeping octopuses in factory farms would be cruel.

If you’ve ever been to a marine aquarium, you likely know this. Octopuses are well known for their intelligence and problem-solving skills. Toys are often kept in the octopus tanks to keep the cephalopods from getting bored.

They’ve also shown worrying behaviours in captivity, including cannibalism, and eating the tips of their own tentacles (which could be the result of an infectious disease). In an environment with no stimulation, these animals grow frustrated and bored.

“Beyond their basic biological health and safety, octopuses are likely to want high levels of cognitive stimulation, as well as opportunities to explore, manipulate, and control their environment,” the scientists wrote. “Intensive farm systems are inevitably hostile to these attributes.”

At the moment, there are some pretty big challenges to overcome even getting an octopus farm off the ground, such as keeping the young animals alive through to adulthood. But technological advances could see that change.

With so many problems already evident, the scientists are hoping this can be nipped in the bud.

“It is our hope that if such an option does become practical, society will recognise the serious welfare and environmental problems associated with such projects and octopus farming will be discouraged or prevented,” they wrote.

“Better still would be for governments, private companies, and academic institutions to stop investing in octopus farming now and to instead focus their efforts on achieving a truly sustainable and compassionate future for food production.”